Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and post viral fatigue syndrome, is a life altering illness affecting women to men in a ratio of 4:1. To date, evidence-based etiology or treatment has been elusive. CFS manifestations are life-altering fatigue in ordinary activities, including constellations of syncope, chest pain, muscle aches, palpitations, sore throat, low-grade fevers, and inability to exercise without a worsening of symptoms, cervical lymphadenopathy, cognitive impairment and resultant depression.
ME/CFS is not rare. The CDC estimates that there are as many as 500,000 persons in the United States who have CFS-like symptoms. However, the disorder remains debilitating, complex and mysterious in origin, natural history, understanding and treatment.
The spontaneous recovery rate for CFS patients is low, for example, 19%. Numerous treatment regimens have been proposed and include administration of various agents such as immune stimulators and steroids, as well as recommending exercise and psychiatric treatment. While they may lead to modest short-term improvement, such treatments have proven generally ineffective in the long run. As the underlying causes and distinctions among types of CFS patients have not previously been known, both observational and evidence-based trials have been misdirected or inappropriately planned.
While progress has been made to segregate certain groups of CFS patients and provide them with specific antiviral agents to alleviate the condition, for other CFS patients—namely those found to have herpes virus plus co-infections—no effective treatment option has been identified to date.
Accordingly, given the distinct types of CFS patients, underlying causative agents and varying treatment approaches, there exists a need for a methodology to identify the appropriate subset of myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome patients, a serological method to diagnose this subset and confirm the causative agent involved, so that a specific treatment protocol can be implemented to alleviate the CFS symptoms in these patients and restore their ability to lead a normal or near-normal life, free from the debilitating effects of chronic fatigue.